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Weld/cut fumes

11-08-2006, 01:32 PM

My home workshop is 1/2 my two car garage (the wife will never give up her side ;-)) When working on projects with the doors closed (winter) I can start to build up some fumes. Since I'm fairly new to metal working, I was wondering how other people deal with this situation. Also - how much welding/cutting can I do before I have to be concerned about the fume level?

Comment

Would it be possible to install a " dryer vent " from inside the garage to the outside?

Then you could develop a vent system using flexible plastic like hose say 4" in diameter, build a fan in the line to vent out the fumes. Perhaps something that you can move around and position near the work piece.

Woodworkers install elaborate dust collection systems to extract saw dust from thier shops. You could do something along those lines.

The other simlple solution would be an exhaust fan in a window, and another window open. ( though in winter it gets cold )

Comment

Would it be possible to install a " dryer vent " from inside the garage to the outside?

Then you could develop a vent system using flexible plastic like hose say 4" in diameter, build a fan in the line to vent out the fumes. Perhaps something that you can move around and position near the work piece.

Woodworkers install elaborate dust collection systems to extract saw dust from thier shops. You could do something along those lines.

The other simlple solution would be an exhaust fan in a window, and another window open. ( though in winter it gets cold )

It's interesting that you said this, as it's exactly what I attempted to prototype. The problem I had, was that as soon as I put the hose on, the slowed the in-line fan down to the point that the air flow was almost non-existent. The instant I took the hose off - you could hear the fan ramp up in speed. Maybe I need a more heavy duty fan, but I have not found one yet.

Chop it and ride it,
Tim

------------------
Lincoln SP135T
Miller Spectrum 375

Comment

It's interesting that you said this, as it's exactly what I attempted to prototype. The problem I had, was that as soon as I put the hose on, the slowed the in-line fan down to the point that the air flow was almost non-existent. The instant I took the hose off - you could hear the fan ramp up in speed. Maybe I need a more heavy duty fan, but I have not found one yet.

Look into the blowers designed for dust collection .... they are designed to pull wood chips, and saw dust. I use one made by Jet ... it does quite the job.

It sits outside and I hook it into the plumbing when I work and bring it back it when I am done.

Comment

I use a dust evacuation system what is built on the stuff from the wood working shows. It works well.

I weld in a 2 car garage and during cooler months, I have two options, open the window some to let air in with evacuation running as the exhaust or my other option is to stay in bed.

You have one life, don't ruin your health.

Jerry

Wow - great replies guys. I'm getting the idea that the fumes are 10 times more harmful than I thought. I don't think I'm doing the degree of work that you all are doing, but just the same it starts to stink in that garage. I guess I need to get more serious about fixing what I thought was a small problem. By the way, my garage has no windows (by design), so I will have to knock a hole in the wall.

Chop it and ride it,
Tim

Chop it and ride it,
Tim

------------------
Lincoln SP135T
Miller Spectrum 375

Comment

One other thing.... Since I have been more serious with the welding/cutting work I do in my garage, I installed another larger fire extinguisher, and a smoke/co alarm. The other night, when I tested my new spectrum 375, I set off the smoke alarm after only a couple cuts (a few inches each) through 16ga. How do you guys set up with alarms? I can't have that thing going off with every little bead or cut. I have it mounted on a beam on the ceiling about 8 ft from my welding bench. Would a different location work better?

Comment

Be aware of your sparks too. If your garage is like most garages and that you share yours with you wife car and stuff; you can easily cause some damage to you garage and home.

Plasmas are great for cutting and for starting fires.

Just my 2 cents....

Absolutely. Normally I move her vehicle out before working, and just about everything else that people normally put in a garage (especially flamables) has been moved to a garden shed. I started about a year ago slowly progressing my "garage" to a "shop" which my wife can still park in. Basically, my side is 100 percent work space while her side is part-time extra workspace.